Dr. Anderson, Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
Published 13 Jul 2020
Tags: chemistry, education, pharmacyWhy did you choose to pursue this career? What made you certain this was the right path?
Went to pharmacy school after working in a pharmacy. Got exposed to poison center work while in pharmacy school. Pursued additional training/certification to be able to run poison centers. Along the way, found out that I enjoyed teaching. So now I get to do both!
What events, prior employment, or educational experiences led you to your current job?
Work in pharmacies, undergraduate degree in pharmacy, doctorate in pharmacy, fellowship training in clinical toxicology.
What schooling, education, and/or certifications did you complete to prepare you for this career?
BS Pharmacy, PharmD degrees; fellowship training, board certification as a clinical toxicologist
How did you make the best use of your time in both your education and career?
Pursued a plan. Original plan was to become a pharmacist. Discovered there were areas of practice that I didn’t know existed and that seemed intriguing. Got experience working in different areas of pharmacy practice (community, hospital, industry). Pursued opportunities while in school that helped point me towards additional education and training. Required updating the original plan. Eventually decided to pursue graduate school and then post grad training and certification.
What advice would you give to a high school or college student interested in pursuing this field of work?
Explore your options. Keep an open mind. Talk to people in the field. See if you can spend some time with them.
What opportunities would you suggest high school students participate in?
Reach out to pharmacists in practice; reach out to me if interested in poison center as a career. Do what you can to build your network! Seek out opportunities, even if there isn’t a specific program already developed.
What opportunities did you take as a student that helped advance your career (research, internships, etc.)
Worked in pharmacies; reached out to faculty about opportunities to do research. Reached out to faculty about opportunities to help with teaching.
What do you wish you had done differently with regards to your career/education?
Wish I’d started learning how to learn earlier.
What does a typical day at your job look like?
I have a great job! I’m involved in educating pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, pharmacy fellows, medicine respondents and medicine fellows every day. There are regular research projects and classroom teaching preparation. I’m also responsible for the Maryland Poison Center, so I have regular administrative issues to deal with.
What was a surprising aspect of your job?
The variety of things that one needs to know or learn about.
What qualities are necessary to be successful in your field of work, and why?
It’s helpful to be inquisitive and interested in learning.
Do you have any additional advice?
Keep options open and explore them! Reach out to family, friends, other connections to see if you can get exposures and experiences that might be helpful to figure out what you might want to do.